Amendment XXIV (24)

Amendment XXIV

Ratified January 23, 1964.

Section 1.
     The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2.
     The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


     The twenty-fourth amendment prohibits both congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. After reconstruction, poll taxes appeared in southern states to try and prevent African Americans from voting and was held constitutional in the decision of Breedlove v. Suttles in 1937. Five states still retained a poll tax when the amendment was passed. Poll taxes also separated poor white voters who might sympathize with the populist party. Poll taxes were unconstitutional when it came to federal elections according to the amendment. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections in 1966 ruled that for state elections, poll taxes were unconstitutional because they violated the equal protection clause. The clause provides that no state can deny any person within its jurisdiction "the equal protection of the laws."

     This picture depicts a very large group of people protesting against poll taxes. This occurred probably before the twenty-forth amendment was ratified, although it could possibly have occurred shortly after as well because it had not yet stopped the poll taxes from coming from state elections until 1966.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBFtN-w-ECo

     This video is a great example of what the twenty-forth amendment entails. I like that these students included the fact that African Americans and poor white people were really getting hit hard with poll taxes because the richer white people didn't want them to vote. The twenty-fourth amendment put this idea to an end.